Process of evaporating liquor.



PATENTED NOV. a, 1903.

E. N. TRUMP.

PROCESS OF-EVAPORAI'ING LIQUOR.

0 MODEL. I

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 10, 1903.

lb n

ivo. 743,352.

UNITED STATEs Patented November 3, 190a;

EDWARD N. TRUMP, or SYRACUSE, New roan] PROCESS OF EVAPORATING LIQUOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 743,352, dated November3, 1903.

Application filed March 10, 1903. Serial No. 147.165. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD N. TRUMP, a citizen of the United States,residing at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York,have invented a new and useful Process of Evaporating Liquor, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the process of evaporatingliquors, and is especially useful in connection with the evaporation ofliquors in which crystals form.

The object of my new process is to enable liquor to be evaporated undervacuum-pressure, but so that the crystals which form insuch liquor shallnot be allowed to settle and become caked. I accomplish this object bymaintaining a circulation of that portion of the liquor only which isrichest in crystalsthat is, the portion of the liquor which has beensubject to the evaporating operationandI maintain this circulation insuch a manner that the richer or crystal-bearing liquor is circulatedfrom and back to the'vacuumpan Without being dissipated through thepoorer or unevaporated liquor. I maintain this circulation in such a waythat the crystals will be barely suspended in a minimum quantity ofliquor-that is, a quantity of liquor barely sufficient to support ormake possible the circulation. I maintain this circulation from the panback to the pan past a valve-controlled exit, so that the crystals maybe withdrawn from time to time Without interfering with the evaporatingprocess that is, so that the evaporating and circulating process is acontinuous one and is not interfered with by the intermittent orarbitrary withdrawalfrom time to time of crystal-bearing liquor.

This process may be accomplished in connection with an apparatus, forexample, such as is made the subject of a separate application havingSerial No. 50,932, filed March 13, 1901, and is shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of my devicewith a part of the pan broken away to show the interior arrangement.Fig. 2 is a plan view of the under side of the pump and grinder, andFig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The vacuum-pan 1, connected with condenser 18 and suitable air-exhaustmeans and provided with steam-heating pipes 2, maybe of any form usuallyemployed for evaporation of liquors and the production of crystals.Steam is introduced into the pipes 2 for the purpose of raising thetemperature of the solution to induce evaporation, the water evaporatedpassing over tothe condenser while crystals form and drop through theliq= uor into the bottom of the pan 1.

Communicating with the bottom of the'pan 1 is the receiver 3. Theopening between said receiver 3 and pan 1 is controlled by the valve 4,which is operated by valve-wheel 5. This valve is adapted when desiredto close com munication between vacuum-pan 1 and receiver 3. the valve4: is kept open, and the crystals descending by their superior specificgravity into said receiver 3 would soon fill it and the pipe leadingtherefrom to the grinder 6 and pump 7 (displacing a large amount of theliquor which rises into the vacuum-pan above) and, if undisturbed, wouldsoon become hard and could only withdilficulty be drawn off at thebottom. To prevent the undue accumulation of crystals in the receiver 3,a circulatory system is provided, as follows: A' pipe During theoperation of the device leading from the bottom of the receiver 3conmeets the receiver with the centrifugal pump 7, which discharges intothepipe 8, which extends upwardly to a distance considerably above thelevel of the liquor in the vacuumpan, where it discharges into thechamber 16--that is, the solution overflows at the top of pipe 8 intosaid chamber 16 and falls down pipe 19 and enters the bottom of thevacuumpan 2 through valve 15. When valves 20 and 15 are opened and 21 isclosed, the liquor will be carried from the bottom of the receiverthrough the pump 7, piping 8, chamber 16, and piping 19 back to thebottom of the vacuum-pan. In this way a continuous circulation ismaintained, which keeps the crystals in a state of suspension in acomparatively small quantity of liquor and prevents clogging of any ofthe pipes. As the crystals accumulate the solution becomes heavier andheavier, until it becomes desirable to draw it ofi into centrifugals orother suitable form of drier fol-extraction of theliquor from thecrystals. For this purpose an exit is provided, as at 10, which isadapted when open to permit the flow of the solution through pipe 9tothe centrifugals 12.

As before stated, pipe 8 extends upwardly to a considerable distanceabove the level of the solution in the pan and empties into the upperpart of the chamber 16, through which the solution falls into pipe 19and is finally conducted through cock or valve to the vacuumpan. As amatter of fact, the solution stands in pipe 19at the same level as itstands in the vacuum-pan 2. The pipe 17, connecting the top of thechamber 16 with the vacuum-pan, maintains in said chamber the samevacuumpressure as exists in the pan. Thus it will be seen that thechamber 16 permits the liquor which circulates through pipe 8overflowing at the top to descend pipe 19 to the level of the liquor inthe pan without creating any increased suction on the column of liquorin pipe 8. The pipe 8 should be of a sufficient height so that if thereis a vacuum in the pan, and therefore in the chamber 16, of, say,twenty-six inches of mercury the weight of the column of liquor in 8shall equal this vacuum or it shall be sufficient to balance the suctionof the pan, so that at a point above valve 10 the pressure of the columnin the pipe 8 will be at least equal to atmospheric pressure. With theseconditions existing during the circulation, if valve 10 is open theliquor furnished by the pump will flow through it, liquor will causeoverflowing at the top of pipe 8 into chamber 16, falling to a pointwhich will just balance the vacuum. The advantage of the arrangement isthat any portion of the liquor may be withdrawn through valve 10 withoutallowing any air to enter the panthat is, without danger of air beingsucked back through valve 10 into the vacuum-pan and without decreasingthe amount of circulation through the pump and without increasing thepressure of the pump. By closing valve 10 and opening valve 21 thecirculation may be maintained Without going through 16. It the pump werenot running, the liquor would normally stand at the same level in pipes8 and 19 as the level of the liquor in pan 2. It is therefore obviousthat the pump merely has to lift the column of liquor in pipe 8 thedistance between the level of the liquor in the pan and the point ofoverflow of pipe 8 into chamber 16. As already stated, the purpose ofthe pump is to establish and maintain the circulation of thecrystal-bearing liquor, and thus prevent the clogging of the pipes,which is one of the greatest difficulties experienced in extractingcrystals from a pan of this character.

The grinder 6 is provided upon the intake side of the pump to protectthe same by pulverizing large crystals and by crushing the scale whichis apt to form on the tubes of the pan to prevent the same from cloggingin the pump or the exit.

The pipe 14 connects the reservoir 13, which receives the liquor flowingfrom the centrifugals 12, with the bottom of the vacuumpan, so that saidliquor may be drawn back into the pan upon the opening of valve 25 bythe suction of said pan. Fresh solution for evaporation may also besupplied to reservoir 13 and delivered to the pan in the same manner.

By the means above described I am able to evaporate liquor undervacuum-pressure and to maintain a circulation of the crystals which formin the richer portion of said liquor by suspending said crystals in aminimum quantity of said richer liquor and circulating it past avalve-controlled exit-point. I am thus enabled to maintain theevaporating process and arbitrarily withdraw from time to time thecrystals without interfering with said continuous process ofevaporation. I am also enabled to withdraw the crystals with a minimumamount of liquor, whereas if the crystals were drawn directly from thepan without a circulation we should have clogging at one time and anexcess of liquor at another time.

What I claim is- 1. As an improvement in the art of evaporating liquor,the step which consists in maintaining a circulation of the richerportion of the liquor.

2. As an improvement in the art of evaporating liquor, the step whichconsists in maintaining a circulation from and back to the richerportion of the bulk of'liquor under treatment.

3. The process of evaporating liquor which consists in heating theliquor and maintaining a circulation of the richer portion thereof.

4. The process of evaporating liquor which consists in heating theliquor and maintaining a circulation from and back to the richer portionof the bulk of liquor being treated.

5. The process of evaporating liquor which consists in heating theliquor and maintaining a circulation from and back to the richer portionof the bulk of liquor being treated, and subjecting the liquor incirculation to the same pressure as that exerted on the bulk of liquor.

6. The process of evaporating liquor which consists in heating theliquor and maintaining a circulation from and back to the lower portionof the bulk of liquor being treated.

7. The process of evaporating liquor which consists in heating theliquor, maintaining a circulation from and back to the lower portion ofthe bulk of liquor being treated, and maintaining the same pressure onthe circulating portion of the liquor as is maintained on the bulk.

8. The process of procuring crystals from liquor which consists inheating the liquor, collecting the crystals in one portion of the bulkof liquor and maintaining a circulation of the crystal-bearing liquor.

9. The process of procuring crystals from liquor'which consists inheating the liquor, collecting the crystals in one portion of the bulkof liquor, maintaining a circulation of the crystal-bearing liquor, andcontrolling the size of the crystals being circulated.

10. The process of procuring crystals from liquor which consists inheating the liquor,

collecting the crystals in one portion of the bulk of liquor,maintaining a circulation of the crystal-bearin g liquor, and separatingthe crystals therefrom.

11. The process of procuring crystals from liquor which consists inheating the liquor, collecting the crystals in one portion of the bulkof liquor, maintaining a circulation of the crystal-bearing liquor,withdrawing the crystal-bearing liquor and separating the crystalstherefrom.

12. The process of procuring crystals from liquor which consists inheating the liquor, collecting the crystals in one portion of the bulkof liquor,maintainin g a circulation of the crystal-bearing liquor,controlling the size of the crystals being circulated, and separatingthe crystals from the liquor.

13. The process of procuring crystals from liquor which consists inheating the liquor, collecting the crystals in one portion of the bulkof liquor, maintaining a circulation of the crystal-bearing liquor,controlling the size of the crystals being circulated, withdrawing thecrystalbearing liquor and separating the crystals therefrom.

14. The process of evaporating liquor which consists in heating theliquor, reducing the pressure thereon and maintaining a circulation ofthe richer portion thereof.

15. The process of evaporating liquor which consists in heating theliquor, reducing the pressure thereon and maintaining a circulation fromand back to the richer portion of the bulk of liquor being treated.

16. The process of evaporatingliquor which consists in heating theliquor, reducing the pressure thereon and maintaining a circulation fromand back to the richer portion of the bulk of liquor being treated, andsubjecting the liquor-in circulation to the same pressure as thatexerted on the bulk of liquor.

17. The process of evaporating liquor which consists in heating theliquor, reducing the pressure thereon, and maintaining acirculation fromand back to the lower portion of the bulk of liquor being treated.

18. The process of evaporating liquor which consists in heating theliquor, reducing the pressure thereon, maintaining a circulation.

from and back to the lower portion of the bulk of liquor being treated,and maintaining the same pressure on the circulating portion of theliquor as is maintained on the bulk.

19. The process of procuring crystals from liquor which consists inheating the liquor, reducing the pressure on the liquor, collecting thecrystals in one portion of the bulk of liquor and maintaining acirculation of the crystal-bearing liquor.

20. The process of procuring crystals from liquor which consists inheating the liquor, reducing the pressure on the liquor collecting thecrystals in one portion of the bulk of liquor and maintaining acirculation of the crystal-bearing liquor and controlling the size ofthe crystals being circulated.

21. The process of procuring crystals from liquor which consists inheating the liquor, reducing the pressure on the liquor, collecting thecrystals in one portion of the bulk of liquor and maintainingacirculation of the crystal-bearing liquor, and separating the crystalstherefrom.

22. The process of procuring crystals from liquor which consists inheating the liquor, reducing the pressure on the liquor, collecting thecrystals in one portion of the bulk of liquor, maintaining a circulationof the crystalbearing liquor, withdrawing the crystal-bearing liquor andseparating the crystals therefrom.

23. The process of procuring crystals from liquor which consists inheating the liquor, reducing the pressure on the liquor collecting thecrystals in one portion of the bulk of liquor, maintaining a circulationof the crystalbearing liquor controlling the size of the crys tals beingcirculated and separating the crystals from the liquor.

24. The process of procuring crystals from liquor which consists inheating the liquor, reducing the pressure on the liquor collecting thecrystals in one portion of the bulk of liquor, maintaining a circulationof the crystalbearing liquor, controlling the size of the crystals beingcirculated, withdrawing the crystal-bearin g liquor and separating thecrystals therefrom.

EDWARD N. TRUMP.

Witnesses:

H. C. EHLE, W. M. HALL.

